Seattle has a population of about 580,000. For the Gay Pride festival last summer the recorded attendance was 200,000 with 100,000 from out of town. I know that the organizers always inflate these numbers but still it means that a lot of people are involved in this.

Nandan and I are getting more serious about presenting Sanjeevani Booti in this festival. I already have a table reserved and the idea is to spread awareness of issues relating to HIV in India. Because gay people have always been the primary supporters of AIDS-related issues, it seems natural to advertise in a gay venue even though HIV is not spread by homosexual contact in the same societal ratios of incidence as it is in the West. We do not yet have a good idea of what it is that we want to do but we want to follow through with creating pamphlets, photos, some simple survey, and information about issues in India.

Gay culture is a relatively new invention in the West especially leaving suppositions about ancient Greek society out of discussion. A lot of people have the misconception that their idea of freedom to be gay is the ideal for all places and times; this applies to any cultural movement. In India things are changing and there are some people who practice a gay lifestyle in the Western sense of the word “gay,” but for the most part this is non-extant and something else exists.

There is this identity of being part of a third gender called “hijra.” A hijra is a sort of saintly and religiously-potent drag queen. Nandan says that they are integral to the workings of Hindu society, particularly for their ability to bless marriages and childbirths. It is all barely comprehensible to me. My point is that in India they are doing something different that what happens here. Also, there is no particular name for a female homosexual as there is in the West, so there is a double standard in sexuality-expression for the birth-genders.

I do not know if I will be able to solicit donations but if not then I will at least get word of our organization’s existence to the public. The lawyer Nandan hired to register the organization said that the matter would take two weeks but in India that could mean anything. I expect that his is honest because he is taking payment on contingency of the completion of the work. Once things are settled on that side of the water registering here as a foreign not-for-profit and getting 501(c)(3) status should be relatively simple.

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